Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
NationalNews

Bethune-Cookman Student Arrested After Police Find AR-15 Rifle In His Car

Posted byBy Tanasia Kenney | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Bethune-Cookman Student Arrested

Ronald Jacques, 20, was suspended from Bethune-Cookman University after police found a loaded assault-style weapon in his car. (Image courtesy of the News-Journal)

A Bethune-Cookman University student was arrested Sunday after police say they found an AR-15 rifle in his car, which was parked near a campus dormitory.

Ronald Jacques, 20, of Miami Gardens was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school property, according to a police report obtained by The Daytona Beach News-Journal. He was still being held at the Volusia County Jail on $10,000 bail as of Monday, Feb. 26.

Jacques has since been suspended from the university.

“The student involved in this incident has been suspended and removed from campus pending a disciplinary hearing,” Clifford Porter, B-CU vice president for advancement, said in an emailed statement.

Jacques’ hearing is scheduled to take place in two weeks, Porter added.

A Bethune-Cookman campus security guard said she discovered the gun while she was patrolling the campus late Sunday night and noticed the student’s Dodge Challenger was improperly parked. While investigating the vehicle, the officer said she spotted a black AR-15 rifle in plain view in the front passenger’s seat.

Police said Jacques exited one of the dorms while security continued inspecting his car, later admitting that the vehicle belonged to him and he was aware of the weapon on the front seat. The student was then detained.

Officers said they found the rifle with a loaded magazine holding 17 .223-caliber rounds. One round was already chambered and shell casing was found in Jacques’ pocket, police said.

A police report shows the student declined to speak further with police.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top